Goodbyes and Hellos



It's been hard to start saying goodbye this month while there is still so much to say hello to here in Florence.








We will say goodbye to Italian ballet and the girls' lovely ballet teacher, Mabel,

 

goodbye to special Italian ballet friends ...



...and their families.




 

We'll say goodbye to homeschool this month,











 

    

and goodbye to favorite places in our neighborhood, like Pugi, and the lovely and gracious Italian women who work there.

We'll be saying goodbye to favorite people, like Massimo, who sells us chickens at the Sant' Abrogio market...

 

...and Elena, who helps to keep the Gonzaga apartments clean,

 

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We'll say goodbye to special colleagues, like Linda and Shelley, who have become dear friends this year.




.
At the same time, we've said hello to old friends like Sarah Carlsen and Brad Hoff who came to visit us from Northfield, MN,

Orlando family members, like Uncle Matt and his friend, Cynthia;

hello to Joe's sister, Bernadette, and Brian Orr from Beverly, MA,







 





and hello to cousins, Theresa Orr and Olivia Orlando, from Boulder, CO.

 


We've said hello to another birthday here in Florence,


and hello to spectacles that come to town once a year since the middle ages, like this regional flag competition...

...and the oldest form of Italian "calcio" soccer, played here in the Piazza Santa Croce.




and brand, new ways of enjoying Florence,



We've said hello to brand, new friends,



in brand, new places we have grown to love.





 

We seem to be saying goodbye and hello all at the same time these days, teaching us that saying goodbye is never easy and that it is never too late to say hello.